“I get so much joy watching my other children playing hockey, football and gymnastics and hope that Bennett will have the opportunity to do something like that one day,” said Diamond with a huge smile.

The centre set out to raise $1 million to fund the sports program for ten years; efforts so far have already achieved 92 per cent of the goal.

“They feel they can do something, be part of a group, which is so difficult for some of these kids because they they always feel left out. In doing sports they, feel more integrated,” said Elizabeth Coutu, a physiotherapist at the centre.